The Washington Post’s PowerPost piece outlined how the Democrats in the Senate can stall, but not stop, the confirmations of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, despite the protests of Democratic Party-aligned protesters at Capitol Hill. The following paragraphs from the article outlines the quandary that the Senate Democrats face in trying to stop Trump’s cabinet nominees from taking their posts:

Amid growing public concern with Trump’s travel ban, Democrats are facing louder calls from within their party to boldly stand up to Trump. But further delays could have far-reaching consequences, as became evident on Monday night when the Justice Department was plunged into turmoil.

Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, an Obama-era appointee, for refusing to defend his travel ban in federal court. In her place Trump installed Dana Boente, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who is expected to hold the job until Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is confirmed as attorney general.

Sessions is expected to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate in the coming days, but Democrats have been using a series of rarely-used stalling tactics to prolong the inevitable. In its statement on Yates’s firing, the White House added that Sessions is “being wrongly held up by Democrat senators for strictly political reasons.”

Spencer Irvine

Spencer Irvine graduated from Brigham Young University in International Relations and currently works as a staff writer for Accuracy in Media.